Kisses
by Queen of the Beasties
Summary: A little fluff based on a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.


The door of the TARDIS opened, making way for Sarah Jane Smith, who was supporting an injured, but mostly irritable, Doctor, his arm slung heavily over her shoulder. Reaching the console, Sarah Jane helped him lower himself onto the floor. Gingerly, the Time Lord rested his back against one of the railings, groaning in discomfort from the many bruises and cuts he had received during their latest misadventure.

"Careful," he hissed as Sarah Jane tried to adjust his back as comfortably as possible against the hard railing. "The back's the worst."

"Right, sorry," said Sarah Jane, standing up. "I'll go and fetch the first aid kit, then. Be right back. Don't go anywhere!"

"Don't worry," the Doctor groaned, albeit with a half a grin as Sarah Jane stepped cautiously over his legs to reach the door that lead to the deeper rooms of the TARDIS. He was left with only a few moments of silence before Sarah Jane returned. Her breathlessness and extremely concerned expression as she knelt down in front of him confirmed his prediction that she had been dashing about the TARDIS in a mad search for the first aid kit in her haste to get back to him. Wishing she wouldn't worry so much about him, the Doctor put on the most comforting face he could muster and said, "I'm fine, really, Sarah. There's no need for all this fuss."

"Nonsense, Doctor. You're hurt!" insisted Sarah Jane as she picked out the necessary supplies from the first aid kit she had brought back with her. As she poured a bit of disinfectant on a cloth, she asked, "How does that cut feel?"

"Which one?" asked the Doctor, for there were multiple scratches and bruises that covered his face and neck, some of them still bleeding slightly. Still, he knew that she had been referring to the biggest gash along his cheek, and he said, "Oh, that. I can hardly feel it." He twinged as it stung him.

"And the ribs? That was quite a nasty punch that Sontaran gave you back there. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd cracked one or two." Setting the disinfectant bottle down on the floor, the cloth in her left hand, she used her free hand to press slightly on the Doctor's lower chest, causing another gasp of pain to escape his lips. Sarah gave him an apologetic look and said, "I think they might actually be broken. Not much we can do about that right now, but as soon as we get back home, we'll have Harry take a look at you. Now, this may sting a bit."

With that as his only warning, Sarah Jane took the disinfected cloth and pressed it against the gash along the Doctor's cheek. The solution caused it to sting worse than ever before, and the patient sucked air through his clenched teeth, eyes screwed up in pain.

"Sorry," the human apologized again. She smirked slightly as she continued to dab at the side of his face.

"What are you smirking at?" asked the Doctor indignantly. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, Sarah, but I was in a _Sontaran bar fight_ just now. I think I'm entitled to a little sympathy here."

"Of course you are," said Sarah Jane, unfazed. "Still, you don't have to be such a child about it."

Before the Doctor could retaliate, Sarah Jane moved onto another gash along the back of his hand, which forced the Doctor to keep his mouth shut lest he make another noise.

"Was it really necessary to get in the middle of all that?" said Sarah as she added more of the infernal solution to her cloth. "I mean, they were being rather rude, I'll admit, but was making your point really worth all this?" She gestured with the cloth to the quickly swelling bruise on the Doctor's jaw from unsuccessfully blocked punches and the scrapes and japes along his wrists from a makeshift duel he had fallen victim to.

"Of course it was!" said the Doctor firmly. "No one insults my best friend's species without hearing from me."

"Well, I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on you," said Sarah Jane, who could not suppress the blush that made its way to her cheeks at the thought that the Doctor was affected so deeply by the Sontaran's insult on her that he had been willing to risk getting injured just to make his point.

The Doctor suddenly gasped in pain again and retracted his hand from her grasp. "That hurts, you know!"

"Oh, for goodness sake, I have to start somewhere. Where doesn't it hurt, then?"

The Doctor pondered this for a moment, then lifted his right elbow and pointed to it with his other hand. "It's not as bad right there."

"Alright then, give it here," said Sarah and the Doctor allowed her to carefully pull his jacket up far enough so that his elbow was exposed, and she put the cloth to it, despite the fact that it was in no way injured. After a few moments, she put down the cloth. Leaning forward, she kissed the same spot and, without any sort of an explanation, said, "Now, where else?"

The Doctor grinned a pained, yet cheeky smile. Pretending to ponder another moment, he finally pointed to his forehead and said, "There."

Sarah giggled and rubbed the cloth gently onto the directed spot, forgetting, this time to add the solution. When she lowered the cloth, she reached up and kissed the top of his head as well.

"Anywhere else?" she asked, forcing a (nearly) serious expression on her face as she asked.

Again, the Doctor pondered, then tapped himself on the nose and said, "There."

Once more, Sarah Jane pressed the cloth onto the requested area, then leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the nose.

"And now?"

For the fourth time, the Doctor thought for a long moment, as if truly trying to decide which next spot hurt him the least. Finally, he placed a finger against his lips and, quietly, said, "There."

Once again, Sarah Jane touched the cloth against the Doctor's mouth. Then, she bent forward until she and the Doctor's faces were mere inches apart, and kissed him. It lasted a bit longer than the previous kisses, but not by much. When it was over, Sarah Jane looked away, as if too embarrassed to meet the Doctor's eyes. The Doctor seemed to have quite the opposite problem, being completely unable to look anywhere else but at Sarah Jane. Finally, however, their eyes met, and slowly, simultaneously, they both grinned.

"I should get beat up by Sontarans more often," the Doctor commented, no longer seeming to care as much about the cuts and bruises that covered him.

"No, you most certainly should not," said Sarah Jane sternly, immediately returning to applying the solution to areas that actually needed it. As she once again covered the gash that ran across the Doctor's cheek, she said, "Just stay still a moment, will you?"

"Oi, who's the Doctor in this place?"

"Until I see a medical degree, it's not you. I've gotten a couple tips from Harry over the years, and I think I can handle it. Besides, you really don't have much of a choice, do you? I'm all you've got."

"I consider myself luckier than most," said the Doctor, and Sarah Jane cracked a smile again.

"It does seem rather bizarre if you think about it, though," she said. "I mean, here we are, just the two of us alone in the middle of deep space. I doubt there's any other living thing around for a million billion miles, at least. It does make one feel rather lonely, doesn't it?"

"Oh, I don't know," said the Doctor. "I'm quite used to deep space travel. Don't think of it as loneliness, Sarah. Think of it as just being the two of us. Alone. In the middle of deep space. No one else for a million billion miles. One could get to know somebody quite well with that sort of privacy." The Doctor had a peculiar expression on his face as he met Sarah Jane's gaze again, and continued, this time with another cheeky grin, "You know, Sarah, I think you may have possibly missed a spot in your otherwise superb nursing." The Doctor pointed with his finger to the cheek opposite the one with the cut. "Right _there_."


End file.
